Going For Broke
by suiei
Summary: HIATUS & REWRITE M. 17 survived his own supposed death by Trunks and a year later finds himself on a spiral towards fate thanks to a certain ultimately intruiguing human. Semiserious, mostly odd humor. Maybe a little romance. RR!
1. The Salad Days Are Over

**Special note at the end.**

Hullo! This is my first...well it's not my first fanfic but it's my first attempted romance. I'm a sad, sad human being ain't I?

Be warned, the humor in this is only for those who can understand dry humor, and the kind of humor in Pulp Fiction. Or maybe a little more obvious than that but nobody's slipping on banana peels here.

Disclaimer: Nope I don't own them. Drat. And if there are little marks around some words, that was my attempt to make them italicized...

Enjoy!

‡

She came in almost every night at nine and stayed until midnight. Sometimes she came in earlier, and sometimes she left later.

That I knew she was there was simply a dry fact I recorded in my mind. Like I knew Evan, the bartender, never really bothered to clean the more tedious glasses with soap.

So I really wasn't expecting her to come and talk to me. Nobody ever did. Nobody ever really talked to one another in there, unless they were together. It was one of the reasons I went there; because nobody bothered me.

"Hey."

I looked up. Normally I sat in the back, away from anyone else who was in the dingy little bar. Tonight was no different. "What?" I demanded, and that was normally enough to offset the person who bothered me.

But it didn't do it to her. She was a bit surprised and she stiffened, but she didn't go away. "...You never have anything to drink," she said.

I glared at her. She was tall, pale, and had dark hair and eyes. "_What_?"

She smiled, although it was wry and halting. "You're in a _bar_. You're here almost all the time I am and I've never seen you with one drink."

"What if I don't like drinks?" I snapped, detesting her very existence. I hated every one of these fucking humans.

She looked down at me. "I've heard of people like you," she said, smiling silently. I wanted to wipe it off her face with the back of my hand but I didn't.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, offended.

"Sorry, I meant you just sit in here and watch people," she said. "Didn't mean to piss you off."

You're doing that by standing there, I thought irritably, unnaturally pale blue eyes narrowed at her face.

But she refused to go away, and just stood there, almost looking stiff. Eventually she said something more. I was unnerving her, that at least I could gather from the way she hesitated before speaking again. "What's your name?"

"Juunanagou," I said bluntly, not blinking.

"I know everybody else's name in here, I didn't know yours, that's why I asked," she said, sounding as stiff as she looked.

I didn't answer, but stared back at her, blunt and level. "Anything else?"

Suddenly the stiffness seemed to flow out of her and she smiled with a silent confidence I used to hate in human beings but had grown used to in the past year. "Can I buy you one?"

I glared at her. Even she should know no human ever asked another that without expecting something else afterwards. And she didn't look like a whore. "No," I snapped, wanting absolutely nothing to do with her.

That didn't seem to deter her in the least and my inner self was practically begging me to kill her. Damned programming, normally it wasn't such a pain in the ass, but then normally I wasn't being harassed by naive, stupid humans.

"Avery," Evan said, sharply.

Her head snapped around and she stared back at the older man and I caught the barely perceptible shake of the head. 'Avery's' mouth opened, but shut after a moment, and she turned back to me with a grim, set smile.

Evan was watching her with a sharp, irritated expression. If it got so much to Evan's disliking, the old crab had a double barreled shotgun with which I'd never seen him miss. It was likely from her expression she knew it too.

"You're the one who kicked seven people's ass at a time, Juunanagou?" Avery said, leaning forward and putting her hands on the table in front of me. "At least let me buy you a drink for something like that."

"What would you want to buy me a drink for?" I demanded coldly.

The hands on the table tensed but she recovered from the icy return fire surprisingly well. "Because I _want_ to, and no idiot in his right fucking mind ever turned down a drink without a damn good reason," she said, staring at me with a steady determination that meant I was drinking with her tonight come hell or high water, or certain purple haired bastards if that be the case. Unless I made a scene and left, which would almost certainly bring that damn shotgun out from behind the bar.

I said nothing but stared at her, and she took my resignation without subjecting me to any more idiotic interrogation.

I couldn't tell you what the thing she put in front of me tasted like, taste had never worked properly for me in my +20 years of existence, but she told me it was a Neapolitan. She neglected to tell me what hers was, and I didn't care.

She said absolutely nothing as we sat across from one another. I drank my drink, like a good little prisoner, and she did hers. But she never said anything. All around us, the ningens were talking to one another and it just struck me that, as a ningen, and these people all believed I was ningen too, that it was odd that she wasn't speaking to me.

"Like your drink?" I sneered, meaning that she was liking her drink more than her company.

She looked up. "You didn't seem like you wanted to talk."

I glared at her. "I didn't want to drink tonight in the first place. I have half a glass left so if you intend on ever talking to me, get started. Because you have until the glass is empty, understand?"

"I should've got a bigger glass than that little shot," she said, smiling wickedly, completely unfazed.

I didn't answer for a moment and when I finally did, I surprised myself. "Your name is Avery, right?"

"Avery Hawking," she reported and set the glass down. "You're Juunanagou..."

"Just Juunanagou," I snapped pointedly. After all, I couldn't go around telling people I was one of the Jinzouningen who had so recently 'died.'

She let the topic go. She was one of the easier ningens to deal with, most of the more stupid ones pressed the issue until I was considering how easy it would be to kill them as an alternative. My landlord was like that.

"It's no fun being here alone," she said, and glanced over her shoulder. "Besides, it's between me and bush baby over there."

I had only recently discovered that 'bush baby' was the favorite name for homely woman that drank the night away and routinely bothered the hell out of everyone. She was currently parked across the bar, not-so-discreetly staring at us. The mass of ugly and tangled brown hair was where her name came from. "Not much of a choice," I sneered bluntly.

She smirked and tilted her glass at me before downing the rest of the liquid. "She has rotted teeth, you know?"

"I think I'd rather not know," I snapped, wanting nothing more than to make the ningen to go away if she wouldn't do it voluntarily. "And how the hell would you get close enough to figure that out? You an--"

"Stop," she said, holding up a hand, laughing through her utter seriousness. "I know where that sentence is leading and I don't need any more disgusting things to think of tonight. I don't think you do, either."

The liquid only took up a fourth of the glass now.

I nodded grimly. "I'd ask you to come home with me but I don't think David would appreciate it much."

My head snapped up as my suspicions were confirmed. "I'm not interested in fucking you," I snapped coolly. She jumped. "Shit, you thought _that_? But then...sorry, I meant it's raining outside now and sometimes I see you walking past my apartment from the balcony, so yours must be farther. Can't you hear it pour outside?"

"...Who the hell's David?" I snapped, thoroughly irritated, and thoroughly unconvinced.

"A kid," Avery said, brushing hair out of her face. "Knowing him, up right now worried sick about me."

The glass chinked empty on the old wooden table and Avery's dark eyes watched it. "Time's up, huh?" she said, standing from the table. "It's alright, I'm done here anyway. If David has another stress-induced breakout I swear I don't know what I'll do with that little brat."

"He your kid?"

"Do I look old enough to have a nine year old kid?" she demanded, but understood the joke underneath the barbed coating.

I smirked. "You never said how old he was, how was I supposed to know?"

She didn't like the tone but she didn't bristle. "Can't be expected to, that's right," she said. "So, now I'm leaving."

"That's good," I said, just loud enough for her to hear.

She didn't react _again_, and I was starting to get a little exasperated. With most humans it was easy to get a rise out of them and start something (which was one good reason Evan never really liked the idea of anyone talking to me), but this one didn't seem to care.

"It's almost midnight," Avery said with a shrug and pulled a black fold out umbrella out of the folds of her trench coat, hung the over sized oilcloth cape over her shoulders and walked out of the bar. The little wooden door opened and a roar of pounding water sounded in the moments before the door closed.

I turned the glass upside down and absently held it to the table with my finger. My eyes scanned the bar, things returning to their normal equilibrium. Until the bush baby shifted position.

My eyes narrowed and I slid from my seat at the first hint of her movement.

That was probably the only human being I will ever be slightly scared of. There was just something wrong with her face. It was too old looking for her age and her eyes gleamed weird, even more strangely than my own.

I opened the door and slammed it behind me, after moving with inhuman speed towards the exit. I regretted my decision as soon as I left, in an instant I was soaked clear to my skin. Down the street a halfway familiar oilcloth trench coat and black umbrella milled in and around the midnight street traffic.

To the normal human eye I disappeared and reappeared fifty meters down the sidewalk. To me I was just in a little bit of a hurry to get to the damned umbrella.

The human Avery jumped in surprise and almost dropped it, and I grabbed the wrist holding onto the umbrella. It faltered but it didn't fall, and with the other one I grabbed the tin rod supporting the base of the mechanism. "What the hell!" Avery stammered, scared half out of her wits. It lasted only for a moment when she took a few collecting herself, and she stared up at me. "Where the hell did _you_ come from?"

"I'd rather not get harassed by the gorilla woman," I sneered. "I don't like your company so don't get the wrong idea."

Avery looked as if she wanted to say something snarly, her eyes flashed dangerously, but she bit her tongue and shrugged. "Whatever. You want to walk home with me?"

"I don't want to stay there."

"I hope you have your own umbrella because this one is mine and it's my only one," Avery said, and almost moved the umbrella out of my grasp but I grabbed it before she could. She gave me an odd, semi-offed look.

"I'm taller than you are," I snapped.

"Oh, so you're _not _just being a gentleman," she said, very much amused.

I didn't feel like dignifying that remark with an answer, but she set the pace first and we walked side by side.

Ten minutes later, through no less than twenty different foot deep lakes of rainwater on the sidewalk, we were at the front door of an apartment.

"You sure you don't want to come inside, even for a little bit to see if it'll slow down?"

I turned. "You sure you won't let me borrow the damn umbrella?" I demanded.

She looked down at the thing in her hands and shrugged. "It's the only one I've got and the radio says it'll rain again tomorrow."

"I have work in the morning," I said, hating my admittance. That was probably the worst part of playing ningen. I had to get a job and pay for stupid things like rent.

"I have an old alarm clock you could borrow, belonged to my aunt," Avery said, and pulled floppy wet hair aside of her face. "I wouldn't mind if you slept on the couch."

"Most normal people don't arbitrarily invite people they don't know into their homes," I pointed out bluntly.

"Most normal people don't draw a gun as fast as I do, either," Avery said, "But I don't have anything worth stealing anyway."

"What about that kid?" I asked, a little startled.

"David? Hasn't anybody told you about him? He's allergic to everything. Even air," Avery said. "If you tried to kidnap him he'd be dead before you could get him halfway down the street."

What in...was I missing something here? I thought as Avery kicked open the door. It looked old and tarnished. "Don't you care about him?" I asked blandly. Weren't ningens supposed to be clingy like that?

"Sure I do, but I'm not going to get in his way."

I don't think I really wanted to know what she really meant by that.

But somehow I wound up in her living room, dark as it was.

"I thought I'd asked David to _please_ change the friggin' light bulb," Avery muttered as she tried the switch and it refused to work at all.

With my vision I caught several very important key facts. It wasn't very clean, everything was an antique, and there was old Chinese takeout on the coffee table, complete with spilled noodles and chopsticks.

"So where do you live, Mr. Juunanagou?" Avery asked I watched her pull open a drawer in the light of a passing car. She ripped something across something held snugly in her other hand and a match flared up for a moment before stabilizing.

She lit a couple of candles that were lying on the chiffarobe top, and stuck them in a little brass candelabra.

"This happen a lot?" I said dryly.

"Not as often as you'd think," Avery said, and turned to the back of the room. "Thought I asked you to change the fuckin' light bulb."

I stared into the darkness at a little boy, barely four feet tall with hollowed out eyes and a head of matted blond hair.

She didn't hit the kid, did she? Not that I cared.

"The ladder broke," David said, "Sorry."

Avery shrugged. "I'll do it tomorrow then. Why aren't you in bed? You did take your medicines, right?"

David nodded and scratched his hair. "You're in late again. Who's that guy?"

I stiffened. The kid stared at me like he was suspicious or something. I glared back and he jerked his eyes to Avery.

"This is Juunanagou. He's going to spend the night since it's raining so hard."

"You do know that's really dangerous, right, Avery?" David asked, sounding blatantly startled and his face opened up like a book to the page marked 'horrified.' "Do you know him or something?"

"Met him at the bar. Go back to bed, David. Or wait, go get the extra sheets," she said and David didn't want to go.

"Go get them yourself, he's your friend," David sulked, and disappeared.

Pleasant kid. I meant that sarcastically, of course.

Avery stared after him for a moment. "I'm sorry about that, he's like that with everyone."

"Even kids his own age?" I asked absently, subconsciously marking that kid for special dislike.

She didn't answer and instead asked her own question. "Didn't I ask where you lived?"

I stared at her wordlessly. Interesting, you are, I thought and narrowed my eyes at her.

"It's not like I'm asking you to drop your pants or anything," Avery said and set the candles on the table. "_David_!" she snapped.

The little boy's pallid face appeared in the doorway again, and this time he seemed irritated. "I thought you wanted me to get to sleep."

"And _I_ thought I told you to clean up this mess before I even left," she hissed.

"You can't order me around, you're not my mom," the little boy said and I caught the flash of indignation in Avery's dark eyes. I watched with interest.

"I know, _thank god_," Avery sneered coldly and a shudder went through David's body as it hit home, "Clean it up anyway. Any civilized human being does that. So, where is it?"

"The Tang building two blocks away."

"Across all that construction?" She turned her head and called, rather impatiently, "_David_..."

"I'll do it tomorrow, Avery! I've got a headache now!" the wispy little voice threaded out through the blackness.

Avery did not press the issue and absently tossed a used light bulb onto the couch, and screwed in a new one while I watched without speaking.

The bulb jumped to light, and pale white light spread around the place. I'd been completely accurate in my first assessment of the room.

"So...you live in the same building as Lisle?"

"Lisle Carmichael?" I said with a distinctly distasteful sneer.

"You know her then," Avery said dryly.

I nodded bluntly.

"I work with her...that's how I at least knew your face."

"I pity you," I said blandly, and was truly stuck between the real thing and a dry verbal expression. "Sometimes I can't sleep at night."

Avery's mouth twisted. "I can't imagine why," she said with dripping sarcasm. "Woman fucks like a rabbit."

I stared at her for a moment, not quite startled.

"What?" Avery spat rather viciously. "It's true."

"I never disagreed," I said coolly.

Avery grinned. "She said you looked like you'd be good in the sack."

I balked although Avery would not have been able to tell. The thought was revolting. "You have no idea how sickening that is to me," I said in a deadpan voice.

"I have some idea," Avery said blandly.

I glanced up at her, face void of emotion. "...I think I could have done without hearing that."

"Me too," Avery said.

"Then why did you say it?"

Avery hesitated a moment, almost threw herself onto her own ragged couch and chewed thoughtfully on her fingernail. She shrugged. "Habit, I guess. Sit down, sit down."

I sat in the chair that was nearest to me. "To speak before you think?"

"Shoot first, ask questions later," Avery laughed. "But, seriously. You want something to drink?"

"No," I said pointedly, saying very clearly that no meant _no_. "That's not very smart."

"Human's ain't very smart," Avery said. "Someone had to _make _the androids, right? He wasn't very smart; or well, he was, but he wasn't very _smart_. He was a fucking idiot. Look at what's happened. Or, I wonder..."

"Wonder what?" I demanded sharply, not liking her sudden swerve in conversation.

"Nothing, sorry, I'll go off sometimes in my own little world..."

I managed a stiff, insincere half smile at her statement as I stared at her coldly.

She seemed impervious to the chilling glare as she leaned back in her seat. "You're new to this part of town. Where' you from?"

"From...the north," I said, leaning back. It wasn't a lie. The old man's lab had been up north. And I remember first waking up in the north. Therefore, I was from the north.

"I heard an interesting theory once," Avery said, not looking at me, looking at something that was apparently bothering her in some random corner.

"An hour before the androids first appeared on that island..."

My eyes snapped dangerously on Avery's pale, sharp featured face. "Yes...?" I said, letting the s at the end trail out in my sudden defensive irritation.

"The satellites at the Wilkhomme Institution up there saw a big explosion outside North City...said something flew off south...thirty minutes later that island went up all the way to hell."

"And your point is?"

"The people there investigated the site; didn't find much of shit," Avery said, her head turning to meet my eyes with a certain graveness that caught me off guard. "Except some stuff they thought was connected to where the androids came from."

"And?" I demanded, starting to get very edgy. No human I had ever talked to before, and I had been around humans (as sickening as that was) for over twenty years, had ever mentioned such a theory.

"And nothing. The scientists there thought that was where the androids came from. From somewhere in the North Range."

"The _lab _was in the North Range," I snarled testily, albeit under my breath. "Stupid humans."

"Pardon?" Avery demanded, head perking up and her eyes staring at me with sudden intensity. I got the sick feeling she might have heard what I'd said to myself.

"Nothing," I growled.

Avery relaxed, visibly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Dad told it to me before...before he, ah...went away. I've pissed you off."

"He's dead?"

Avery's mouth twisted humorously. "Sometimes," she said and leaned back. "Are you getting tired?"

"No," I said bluntly, turning what I'd just heard over in my head. "Where'd you get that information?"

"David told it to me," Avery said rather bluntly.

"So why are you telling _me_?" I demanded.

She glanced back at me with a slightly dry smile. "I dunno. You're the first person I told it to. Guess I thought you'd be interested."

I stared back at her, very much unamused.

‡

Sooooo, whatjathink? RR!

**Oct 15, 2006 – Oh, my stars and stripes. I went over this with a spell checker? Why the hell didn't anyone tell me that it was riddled with misspellings? I'm rewriting this motherfucker. So I've preemptively reposted it with altered spelling. Ugh.**


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

Right then, Chapter 2...

Took me long enough, right? ^_^;;;

~~

"You like your coffee black or what?"

I glanced at Avery, quickly breaking through the mists of sleep, or what I considered to be sleep. It was really just a severe dulling of my peripheral perception. Even though I once had been a human (a topic which I preferred not remember) I wasn't exactly human anymore and so I had no real need for basic human functions.

One of them being eating breakfast.

"I don't drink coffee," I said. Somehow it never tasted right even though I had some fuzzy sense it was supposed to taste good.

"Orange juice?" she continued. "Or would you like milk or water?"

"...Water," I said absently. "Do all humans keep guns in the refridgerator?"

Avery looked at me dryly and put the gun down on the counter top. Then took out the egg carton. "No, actually. Just the ones who want to live past twenty-five in this part of town."

"Does that brat have one?"

"What stupid bitch would give a nine year old a gun?" Avery said, and pulled a box of instant oatmeal out of the cabinet. "Oatmeal's okay, right?"

I shrugged irritably, I was still feeling some of the ingrained desire to end her miserable existence.

"Do you like sugar in yours or not?"

"I don't care," I said.

"Good, because there ain't any."

Niether of us said a word for the next few minutes as the rain came down in listless sheets and Avery went about putting a saucepan on the stove. The sky wasn't dark but not even a backwards human child would have been outside without an umbrella.

It occured to me that a certain fixture of Avery's household was absent but Avery had set a bowl out for him anyway. "Where's that kid?"

"Asleep," Avery said and stirred her saucepan with a distracted, blunt inflection to her voice. "He'll stay in bed until the afternoon."

My eyes narrowed. In five hours of talking with the human, I'd discovered that Avery was the last human to prod when she didn't want to be. But that didn't detract one little bit from my satisfaction in her discomfiture. "Most people wouldn't put up with the little shit."

"That's why I said I'd take him in," Avery said quietly, voice neutral. "And he's not a little shit."

I abandoned the topic in favor of the .45mm gun within arm's reach of Avery. It wouldn't do to have her discover me for what I was; I wasn't exactly in a position to get off scotch free for murder anymore. People here knew my face, if they didn't know my reputation, and I didn't need any hint of my prolonged existence leaking to a certain super Saiyan bastard. "What time is it?"

"There's a clock," Avery said grimly. But she told me anyway. "Eight twenty-five. What time does work start for you?"

Her voice was strained, and she made no pretense that she was at all appreciative of my opinion of David.

"Getting rid of me so soon? And you begged so hard to get me to stay," I sneered whimsically, just to see how she'd react.

She flinched but didn't falter. "I'm not trying to get rid of you Juunanagou," she said, turning and leaning easily against the countertop, crossing her arms with a halfway relaxed smile. "You're decent conversation. A little vicious, but still decent. Well, _you're _up early today." Our heads turned.

"I couldn't sleep last night," the boy said, ignored me and slid into the chair across from me at the table. He glanced at me and said a grudging, "Hi."

"That's strange, you're usually asleep from sunset until midafternoon," Avery said. "Just don't go the opposite way and turn into an insomniac."

David didn't smile but nodded. It was then I really noticed how sickly the brat was. Skin and bones he wasn't quite, but that pallor wasn't natural.

"Have you taken your medicines?" Avery asked, fiddling with the orange juice container.

"Yes."

"The Viledum too?"

"Yes."

"Here's the Provacil. Take it after you eat something." She put a little orange bottle on the table in front of David.

David looked mutinous. "I _know_ that, you're not my mom."

"As you never fail to remind _me_," Avery said rather coolly, if not airily, "But I promised to look after you whether you _like _it or not. And go clean up your mess."

David huffed and ran off to clean up the chinese takeout that was still lying on the coffee table.

Avery glanced back at me and I blinked boredly. "So where do you work, Juunanagou?"

"Joe's. What about you?" I asked though any idiot could tell I wasn't really interested. Avery was no idiot, for a human, but she obliged me though I knew she knew I didn't care.

"Nuremburg's," Avery said.

"Uptown?" I sneered. "Where does all the money go?"

Avery didn't flinch under the comment and I stood up. "Sorry, but I've got to go."

Avery turned and David came to a stop in the doorframe, carrying a trashbag. "Aren't you going to stay for breakfast?" Avery said.

"I have to be at Joe's at eight forty-five. I open."

Avery shrugged with a dull frown. "Better hurry, then."

I nodded and turned to leave.

*+*

The door shut behind me with a sharp slam and I entered with the plebian traffic on the street.

"Hey, Juunanagou!"

I turned, my lip curled up in utter distaste. But I forced myself to keep up pretences. "Good morning, Louis."

The man was taller than I was and had only one eye, but most of the time you couldn't tell because his hair fell in the way of the missing one.

"So have you talked to Raymond about that raise, eh?"

"No," I replied bluntly, hoping that he would catch my drift and drop the subject. Not that I kept it from the bastard because I hated Louis, that was a given, but because I didn't want to waste my time bothering with it. There was a zero chance Raymond would even consider it. Even I, his own manager and (he _wished_) protege, couldn't get a one zeni raise out of him.

"Aw come on, Juunana!! Ain't ya even asked him?"

"No."

"Jesus, Juunana! You're fuckin' useless you know that? I've got a _life _to live! I have _beer _to buy!"

"And I care?"

Louis sighed dramatically. "Hey what'cha say you and me go out tonight?"

I glared at some stupid child on the side of the street who had the gall to ask me if I wanted to buy...whatever he was selling. I didn't even care enough to notice _that_. "I'd rather bite my tongue and drown on my own blood," I sneered.

"You and me, a couple of beers and some hot chicks, huh?"

"I already said no," I snapped. It made me ill to think of it.

Louis didn't say anything for a few moments, but then he piped up again, "You mind if I say something?"

"I don't care," I said impatiently. I'm ignoring you anyway.

"Off the record, I mean, you can't fire me if I say it."

"Go ahead," I snapped rudely. "You can fix a car and that's all _I _care about."

"You're a real fucking asshole."

I smirked and looked up at something in the sky. "I know. I try."

"Hey, boss."

"_What_?" Louis should have been famous; he held the record for the only human to push me so far and remain intact. Avery was

almost a different kind of conversation. Avery held the record for the _longest_ conversation.

"You think it'll rain today?"

"Most likely," I said tersely, already knowing that it would. The clouds were right for it and I could smell it coming on.

We were almost at the dingy little one-time house that I and six other ningens called our workplace. It probably dated several decades before my existence and had seen at least one go around with my sister and I, and it came off as pretty well despite that. Old cars and car parts littered the vacant lot that it sat on between buildings.

"Yo, Louis!"

The red haired man broke off whatever drivel he was bothering me with and perked up, focusing on Omar who was standing in the doorway.

"Get yo' ass in here! Raymon' wants to talk to ya's!"

"Right! Tell him I'm coming!"

I stepped up under the overhang and leaned on the side of the building, staring at the street.

"S'gonna be a busy day, man."

I nodded.

"Got a light?"

I shook my head, and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

_This_ is what I'd been reduced to? _Living _with humans, scrounging in the dirt of their society?

It was almost enough to make me sick.

"Hey, Juunanagou."

I looked up, the grave looking black man who had at least three scars on his face and was one of the few ningens who warranted a scrap of respect, and tilted my head in acknowledgement.

"Somethin' on yo' mind?"

"Nothing," I said bluntly.

"Yo' sure?"

I nodded coldly and walked off.

The 'day' I'd woken up it had been raining too, only much harder and with purple lightning slashing through the should-have-been midday sky.

I remember sitting up in a pile of dirt and rubble, thinking to myself, 'what the _hell_ just happened?!'

I remember looking around and seeing a city full of wet and broken flowers; I'd learned later for myself that Bridge City or wherever it was that I'd been 'killed' had been turned into some sort of a memorial Mecca, especially the crater that supposedly contained my body but wouldn't anymore.

And I remember staggering out of that city in a daze, not quite right in the head, and falling facefirst into a gas station not too far outside of the city, and I starkly remember the chilliness of the linoleum on my face before blacking out. I think that was the first time I'd actually ever felt real hate _towards_ anything, lying on that floor with barely anything on me; I'd always felt a general hate towards humans, but then my hatred was brought sharply into focus, on one single half human bastard. _He'd_ done this to me, brought me to my knees like that. To top it off I innately _knew_ my sister was really dead.

Bastard...

"Hey, Juunana!"

I turned suddenly, and Vincent was walking towards me, cigarette perched precariously at the side of his mouth. "That blonde chicks' Mizera's got some shit wrong with it I can't figure out. You wanna take a crack at it?"

I shrugged. "What have you looked at?" I demanded briefly.

"Well the distributor cap's fine and the filter's new."

"The spark plugs?"

"Ain't checked them yet. Joe said for me to go and get you."

"How nice of Joe," I sneered sarcastically and Vincent let out a muffled laugh.

"Well you know the most about cars around here, that's for sure. Hey, where'd you learn all that shit you know? I bet you could work on Harry Feldman's car if he paid you enough and it'd go faster than it already does."

Harry Feldman was Vincent's favorite driver on the Rawley racing circuit. Why he liked him I'd never know, and I'd never ask.

I shrugged. "I've always known how."

"Lucky bastard," Vincent said, grinding the cigarette into the dirt with the toe of his boot as he followed me into the garage. A pretty little silver sports car, the Mizera, was in the middle of the room, a human man halfway gone inside its hool.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" I demanded snappishly, causing the human to jump and promptly almost break his head on the hood of the car.

I smirked self-indulgently and let out a harsh laugh.

"Dammit, Juunana!" Joe complained and nursed his head while I peered into the engine. It was a sixteen cylinder engine, expensive as hell and probably hot. The ningen who brought it in looked like the type who couldn't legally afford one of these cars on whatever the red light district paid these days.

Not like I cared, as long as she footed the bill for Raymond, who in turn would pay _me_.

"So you went to the Why Not last night, huh?"

"What do _you _care?" I sneered rudely as I leaned over. "Somebody get in there and fire this thing up."

Joe hurried to oblige and the car roared to life, but I could hear something was definitely wrong with it.

"Tim said he saw you have a drink with a chick last night at the bar. Pretty little thing from what he said," Vincent said, leaning over beside me and staring down into the growling engine.

"_Really_," I muttered dryly, not wanting to talk about it.

"She still free?"

"What?"

"You and her aint...you know..."

"_No_," I snapped emphatically.

"_Sweet_, then you wouldn't mind me, uh, moving in would you?"

I glanced at Vincent harshly, eyes narrowing. "What?"

Vincent backed off, smiling nervously. Most ningens I'd ever come into contact with thought me a particularly _dangerous_ ningen. I had never made much of a pretense of being anything less than dangerous.

"Whoah, man, sorry," Vincent said, "Didn't mean to start anything."

"You didn't start anything," I snapped. "You think I'd want anything to _do_ with that bitch?"

"What's she look like?" Joe asked from the front seat. He revved the engine out of boredom.

I glared out of the corner of my eye at Vincent, hoping he wouldn't keep this ridiculous conversation going. I'd just escaped from the bitch and I didn't want to think about her. Not now or ever again.

"Tall. Dark brown hair and eyes," I said tersely. "Almost as tall as I am. No glasses. Looks like a bird."

"Is she really pale and doesn't wear a lot of makeup or clothes?"

"...I didn't notice what she was wearing," I sniffed irritably. "But she wore no makeup."

"Is her name Avery?"

"How did you know?" I asked boredly, albeit a little angrilly.

"She's got that little half-dead shit who follows her around, right?"

"David?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Little shit if you ask me, I'd like to beat his ass but I think that bitch'd shoot off my head before I got anywhere near 'im. Like to beat _her_ ass sometime, too, but not like _that_," Joe said flippantly, grinning.

"And how _do _you know her?" I demanded silkily. Anyone who had known me for a while and cared to notice my quirks would have known to just come up with an excuse _not _to continue the conversation.

"Louis tried to hit on her once or twice before but she wouldn't go for it," Joe said. "Wouldn't have a damn thing to do with him."

"If I didn't work with the bastard niether would I," I said cruelly and turned away from them. "If this car isn't fixed in an hour I'll inform Raymond that the lot of you were lazing around _again_."

"What the--?!" Joe spluttered as I turned to walk away.

Vincent's and my eyes crossed paths for a fraction of a second and he looked away.

The stupid bastard was laughing at me without saying a fucking word.

When I left the garage I wandered out front and into the main office, if you could call it that. It was really just a room with a desk in it and some stuff on the desk, and a door that led out back to the garages.

Omar glanced back at me for a moment and continued tacking things up on the wall. "Hey, Juunana, do me a favor'n bring me those papers on'a table."

I picked them up for him and petulantly shoved them towards him. "Here."

"Man, you're touchy," Louis said, leaning out. His hair was slicked back from his head with water from the dispenser inside Raymond's office and I could clearly see what had been his left eye, but what was now a fleshy lump infused with tiny red viens that could be seen if you peered hard enough at the tinted scar tissue. "We're just teasin' you." He was grinning. "She must really be a babe to get that out of _you_."

"_No_," I said slowly, patronizingly, viciously, "I'm _touchy_ because the thought makes me _sick_!"

"Right, _whatever_," Louis said, the lines beside his one gray blue eye creasing as he grinned.

Honestly. I had no _idea _how I'd put up with these morons for almost a whole year. And where the _hell_ was Lee? That lazy prick, if he shows up to work again with a hangover...well...the day might just get a little better _after_ all, I thought.

*+*

Work was absolutely uneventful, as usual. At nine I locked the doors to the garage where the Mizera refused to be cooperative.

The streets were unusually packed for this time of night and I knew why. It was coming up on the one year anniversary of mine and my sister's deaths...and the fucking humans were going to have a big parade to _celebrate_ it. To add to this, it had begun raining in the first minutes that I walked home.

It was unbelievable how a society of people, reduced in numbers to the tens of thousands, could manage to converge on one place in such relatively large numbers. Especially the one place they weren't _wanted_, whether they knew it or not.

Earth was still in the throes of an economical rollercoaster that had begun at the advent of my 'reign' as the history classes were currently teaching their students, according to those fools who actually thought I cared. So it was also rather incredible that half of them could _afford_ to waste time cheering on the streets, but then those were humans for you. Stupid.

Without anything mentionable happening on my way home, I slipped into the ground floor room of the Tang building, my current home.

I didn't even look at the guard, whose name I'd never learned because they usually managed to be replaced every few weeks or so, and stepped into the elevator.

No ningens shared the elevator with me as it went up to the fourth floor and opened the door, though I did pass the group of three boys who lived down the hall from me. They never said a word to me, I didn't care for them and the feeling was mutual.

My room number was 407.

I unlocked it and went in, flipping on the lights as I did so. My apartment in was an older building, dating to sometime early during my 'reign of terror,' which, by the way, I sorely missed.

The far wall was mostly bare brick and there were three windows in a row on that side, which faced the street. Various things I'd collected somehow were laying around my apartment; a couple of guns, the odd piece of clothing, car parts and/or magazines...really, whatever I particularly liked and decided I wanted.

The only things that really stood out were the (disused) kitchen in one corner and my couch and television in the other. One door led off to the bathroom and another door led off to my bedroom. The closet was inside my bedroom.

I sat down on my couch, picked up the remote control, and turned on my television. I plunked my feet on my table and leaned into my couch.

"_Representatives from Capsule Corporation met today at Layta to discuss with CEO's of the Weiss Company_--"

"That again? Why can't Weiss figure out that bastard's mother's never going to sell out?" I muttered, remembering my rare and far between encounters with the human bitch. For some reason I'd never been able to get a bead on her, and if _I_ couldn't bring her down, nobody ever would.

I changed the channel.

"_People continue to come to Halgrove City in astounding numbers; and hotel vacancies_--"

"You haven't been able to shut up about that parade for months, Reba," I snapped, having watched the news enough when I was bored to learn at least a couple of their names. "They're going to _keep_ coming in until it's over, and then they'll be coming for the after parties."

There was one thing I could definitely say for the predictability of the human race; they will always have boring channels on the television, and they will always be on when you needed them the least.

~~~

Well, there we go. ^_^ Chapter 2. I guess it wuz kind of boring but it will get better...honest I promise. Trunks will show up eventually and then things get a little dicey for our dear little andwoid...

Chapter 3 no come out until...I get 9 reviews (total!, which means you only have 5 to go...)

Ainohikari: Hehehe, lol. You think it's weird cuz you have no idea what's going on! I'll see ya tomorrow. :P Thanks for reviewing!

Bishi-Gojyo: Yup, 17 is a badass. XD Gotta luv the badassedness. I think 17's pov is mucho fun cuz you can do a lot with it...he's not a very major character so there's lotsa room to infer. Thanxies for reviewing!

Skyflame2: Yah I knew he's a cyborg. ^_^; I just don't really bring it out as a major point, ya know? Yes, Trunks is going to show up, _eventually_, and there will be fighting. Trunksy probably doesn't much like the idea that 17's alive...nonono...lol. Thank you for the review!

Seveninchsprockets: 17 can be a hard little bugger to write properly...but it's fun though. ^_^ I hope I'm doing well. Avery...well there's gonna be more of her, and David _is _a little shit sometimes. Thank you so much for reviewing!


	3. Highway to Hell: Exit 1

My God, how long has it been? I'm so sorry for the _immense_ delay of this chapter. Almost a bloody year! Damn you, writers block! I'll shut up now so y'all can enjoy the chapter.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Avery, this is going to be the best thing to ever happen to Halgrove!"

Avery didn't say anything but glanced at her friend, not cracking a smile when Linda's characteristically cheerful face beamed across the table at her. She looked back at the passersby on the street, who were hanging things up for the parade.

"Avery? _Avery_…"

Avery's gaze raked along the street, watching a pair of children run across the median chasing a ball. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze went unfocused. Images of people past and present and twenty four sum mat hours ago…

"Avery!"

Avery flinched, and then looked up at Linda. "_What_?"

"You were spacing out on me there. What's up?"

Avery leaned back and took a very long drink of her wine. She sat there very quietly for a few moments and then looked up at the food on her plate. "I was thinking of…I was thinking about my mother."

Linda started for a moment and then looked away. "You don't think about them a lot, do you?"

"_Them_? It's my _mother _I miss," Avery laughed, rather bitterly.

"What about your dad?" Linda asked.

"I…ah…don't think about him as much," Avery replied after a moment, a little reluctantly. "I prefer not to, if at all possible…"

"Why not?"

It was at that moment the waitress came by and picked up the check and Avery suddenly became engrossed with recounting the change and making sure it was correct.

"I'm sorry…what did you say?" Avery asked once she'd counted it three different times.

"…Never mind…"

Avery stared at her friend for a moment, almost a little suspiciously, and shrugged. "Okay. Anyway…what were you saying about the Commerce Chamber?"

"I was saying that they're expecting at least twenty thousand people to come through town - that's almost a fourth of the population of the _world_! Maxwell say's it's going to be the city's chance to establish itself as a commercial…"

Avery looked over at the man playing the piano in the corner. She'd never found Linda's job very interesting - but, apparently she made oodles more money than Avery did. Exactly _why _Linda got so much money for harassing people about debts Avery didn't know.

Nuremberg's.

Why in the _hell _did I tell him I worked at Nuremberg's? Avery thought bitterly. You stupid _idiot_. He can cross check that if he wants, and then you're fucked. You haven't worked there for three months.

"So, how've you been? I know I talk a lot, so here's your chance to tell me something."

"Not much…I'm still looking," Avery said. "Once I'm done with this one I'll get a new one."

"Ah…you think they'll…let you go after this? They…they don't just let people _go_."

Avery shrugged, almost defeatedly. "I'll manage."

"Avery…"

"I'll be fine," Avery insisted sharply. "It was never a permanent agreement."

Linda sighed. And now for the reason Avery had even called this meeting. She put the papers on the table. "Ok, here's the papers. Read them over," Linda instructed.

Avery was never good with legal proceedings, and she hated having to go over every bit of fine print.

"It's not like I own anything other than myself," she muttered angrily as Linda ran through the pages of cleanly printed documents.

"_This _provides for transference of David's legal guardianship to me upon your death, with all due haste and without undue legal proceedings."

"English, please?" Avery snapped, running impatient fingers through her hair.

"When you die - _if_ you die, I take care of David and the courts can't challenge it," Linda said.

"Good."

Linda flipped a few pages around. "You don't keep up very well with your paperwork…"

"It's pointless to me," Avery said shortly. "I've never had it."

"Are you saying you never had paperwork or you used it for tinder?" Linda asked sardonically. The second option was actually quite likely. Avery still functioned as if the world were still living in fear of the androids - a period during which organization took a backseat to survival.

Things had been transient, and that was why a handshake and a promise were all that had ever really been needed. Things weren't so transient anymore, and legal documentation was required in most of the more 're-civilized' areas of the world.

Avery had never so much as owned an ID of any kind. There were, literally, three pictures of herself, no more or less, anywhere. One of when she was a baby, and two of when she was nine. She hated all three of them (thought they were hideous) but kept them if only because they were the _only_ ones she had.

Linda sighed. "Look, Avery. Do you want to do this or not?"

"I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't," Avery replied dryly. "Let me sign the papers."

"I can't let you do that until you have documentation of who you are"

"Damn your 'documentation!'" Avery exclaimed. "You know who I am"

"Yeah, but the courts _don't_, anyone could waltz in there and claim to be an Avery Hawking!"

"David could identify me," Avery defended.

"I can't do this without some effort on your part, okay! To make this legal beagle I have to have a copy of at least _some_ kind of photo ID. Even a driver's license would work! Got one of those!"

"I have never _needed_ one!" Avery insisted.

"Well you need one now," Linda said bluntly. "And don't you _dare_ go get a fake one. I know you know who to run to, or at least you could find out. I want proper papers out of you, Avery."

"Don't patronize me," Avery snarled. "I'll get you your damned 'picture ID,' Linda. Just one question."

"What?" Linda asked, slightly amazed Avery would go far enough out of her way for a little monster like David's welfare. It was a personal favor to Avery that Linda agreed to take David if Avery were to die.

"Where…would you get one of these 'driver's licenses'…"

Linda's mouth would have dropped open but the embarrassed flush that invaded Avery's pale face meant she really had no idea where to find such a place. And causing Avery humiliation would not end well for Linda's end of the argument.

"Here's the address, it's downtown," Linda said, writing it down on a scrap of paper and sliding it over to Avery.

"How long would it take?" Avery asked.

"Plan on being there a while - since I think you're like a lot of the people where you live, thought to have died at some point because of the androids since you never really reappeared in society - you might have to fill out extra paperwork."

"But I'd get the ID then, right?"

"Yes, they print them out in the back room, it's really cool, actually," Linda said. "They have this"

"Could I do it today?" Avery asked. "I've got a bad time limit."

"Well, I…guess so," Linda said.

"How long do you think it would take?"

"Oh, I dunno…maybe four or five hours? It should only take an hour for the regular process but you've got a lot of stuff to catch up on," Linda said. "Plus it depends on how long the line is."

"Line for what? People who've never had an ID before?" Avery said, humor wavering between the genuine and the mocking.

"Line for the pictures," Linda said. "Then you've got to wait to have the license order run through the printer in the back. That'd take a while if there's a lot of people. One time I met a woman who had been in there three and a half hours waiting for her license when the law was reinstated."

"…They reinstated a law?" Avery asked skeptically. Even if she lived where she did, she shouldn't have been oblivious to something like that.

"Well, started enforcing it again," Linda explained. "You couldn't drive cross continent without being arrested for driving without a license anymore. You only drive inside the city so nobody's ever bothered you about it before."

"…Hn…"

Avery stood up from the table.

"I'll call you from my apartment when I get back from this driver's license thing. I'll meet you wherever you are."

"…Okay," Linda replied. "The check?"

"The owner knows me, I'll pay him back later. Or if I'm dead in 24 hours, he can get the money from David. No, I'm paying! Put the card away."

Linda sighed vehemently.

"You can't just _promise_ to pay back a two hundred zeni lunch. I'll pay now and if it bothers you that much, you can pay me back later."

"…Okay. Thanks, I'll get the money back to you as quick as I can," Avery said, rather bitterly. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Linda said, and shook her head as Avery walked away from the table, walking too quickly to turn around and fake that she wasn't nervous if Linda had called her on it.

* * *

In my memory I could not remember being so grateful it was the evening.

I looked over my shoulder, peering at the human in the darkness. It was almost nine thirty and the garage was closing for the night. Again. The bland repetitiveness that was my life now had grated on me severely today.

"_What _did you say?" I asked, flatly.

"A wampus kitty," Louis replied. He was grinning. "It means a loose woman."

I was sure I must have heard the human wrong, but it seems I hadn't. I had to quickly squash the urge to dissolve Louis' head in a ki blast.

"…Whatever. Have you locked the garage?"

"Yeah, twenty minutes ago. Oh, we ordered parts for the Mizera," Louis replied absently. "Twenty zeni says she bails on the bill."

I grunted in reply.

"Well, we won't give her car back if she does," Vincent said. "Will we?"

"See y'all tomorrow," Omar said, and trundled off slowly.

I nodded absently, and stood up to go.

"Where're you going?" Raymond asked.

"My apartment."

He nodded slightly. "See ya tomorrow. You going to that parade?"

I glared at him. "_No_."

"Suit yourself," Raymond said, and shrugged. "They're giving out free beer so we're all gonna get blitzed."

I stared at Raymond a little darkly.

You have no _idea_, I thought as I turned around, and walked away.

* * *

The back streets in this area of town were the kind that god-fearing suburbanites would roll up the windows and lock the doors for. I was never bothered by it, as no human posed a threat to me.

I decided against going to the bar tonight, as I was sick of humans. At least I could escape them until tomorrow, where I'd _have _to deal with them at work.

I stopped, and an almost sinister smile crawled over my face. It really _was _comical, you know. Me, the killer of millions - _literally_! - worrying about stupid, menial things like that.

An obviously well past toasted bum staggered out of the alley in front of me and tripped over his own feet, falling face first into the gutter. He didn't notice me standing over him while he puttered and lolled about, muttering incoherently even to my ears.

_Worthless_.

The urge rose up inside me to end this insect's worthless life, if only to laugh over his dead body and relive some of the 'good old days.' I knew nobody would miss him.

I think I would have talked myself into it, too, if someone hadn't walked up on me standing there.

"I'd've never thought you'd go for that type."

I was not entirely unaware of the presence, but it was the voice that surprised me. I glanced over my shoulder at Avery. Just the one I _didn't _want to see, I thought irritably. I had always loathed coincidences.

By this time the bum had stood up and was staggering off, singing a song that no longer had a tune.

"What's the matter? You're letting him get away," Avery said. "Don't let _me _stop you." Her voice sounded strange; not quite strained but definitely not natural.

"What do you want?" I snapped. "I warn you not to stalk me."

Avery stared a bit.

"What makes you think I'm _stalking _you?" she asked blankly.

"Then what are you _doing _here?" I hissed. I glared at her, and she paused awkwardly.

"I live here, don't I?" she replied. "It's a free country."

Any reply I made would have sounded like a spoilt child, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Is there something on my face?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You're staring at me," she replied.

"So are you," I countered irritably. "What do you want?"

Avery sighed, apparently conceding defeat.

"I don't _want _anything," she said shortly. "_Bye_."

Avery brushed past me, and took off running into the darkness, long coat whipping behind her.

Humans and their fucking mood swings, I thought blandly as I began to walk again. _No_, actually upon reflection it was a female thing. Juuhachi had acted much the same way at times, at the risk of comparing my sister to filthy parasites.

I stopped abruptly, and my head jerked up when the deafening roar of a gunshot tore into the nighttime silence.

* * *

Note f/ future reference: When in 1st person, it's Juunanagou speaking, and if it's any other tense, it's someone else's POV.

I took long enough in updating, didn't I? Wow. looks at the date OO; I've been meaning to continue this story, but extenuating circumstances and writer's block prevailed. It never would come out right. I didn't want to put something up just to say it was put up. Better late than have a badly written story, right? And lol, wouldn't you know it. When I got this chapter finished, the internet refused to work. So even _this _is a little delayed. There was phone lines down just 30 seconds from my house, which was apparently the problem.

Anyway, we're getting to the good parts. The next chapter will have actual action in it, complete with Juunana actually getting to kill people. Yay, don't ya know he'll be happy about that. ;;;;

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints? I'm well aware it takes us more than a few hours to get a drivers license - this isn't our world, remember… I thank all y'all that have thus forth reviewed. I'm thinking I should at least introduce Trunks so I don't have to go through that problem when he actually becomes important to the story.

Oh, and a 'wampus kitty' is _not _something I made up.


	4. Slip the Dogs of War

**Bit of forewarning**: _This chapter is considerably more violent than any of the rest so far_. I hope it doesn't sound too awkward, but it's necessary. Has it occurred to anyone else that the very word 'awkward' is itself awkward to write?

Mirai Juunanagou is _not _nice. He is a mean, evil, human-killing jerkwad. Especially in the subbed version. But God help me, I'm terrified he's OOC in this chapter…

* * *

A deafening roar shattered the silence and blinding pain tore into Avery's left arm right below the shoulder.

Avery, caught entirely by surprise, nearly choked on her scream. She jerked backwards, narrowly avoiding a second bullet that ricocheted off the brick.

"_Shit_!"

Avery had thirty minutes to make it to the first rendezvous point. She'd left early, hoping to avoid this very possibility. Running into Juunana -

_Damn_, Juunanagou's still around, Avery thought, clutching her arm. Blood dripped in rivulets from her limp hand. I hope he's got enough sense to get the fuck out of here before he gets himself shot.

Avery hesitated just a moment before taking off the way she'd came.

Men's voices echoed behind her, spilling into the ground of the alley and rushing behind her.

Avery ducked into a building, hoping to hide in the darkness and pick them off.

She saw the shadow of a man pass by a window, readied her gun, and when he burst inside after her, she pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet slammed into the man's forehead, sending him reeling back in an explosion of blood and gray matter.

She shot a second one in the stomach. Four more remained, and had spread out inside, carefully scanning the darkness with readied guns.

Definitely syndicate, Avery thought, noting the uniform attire they wore. Somebody's taking this seriously…

Avery couldn't stay in the building, it was too likely that they'd see her or help would come. It was not an option to fail in this job.

She raised her gun, aiming for the far wall, hoping to distract them.

She fired, shattering glass.

She sprang for the doorway as the four men whirled around, their backs to Avery, and she sprinted out the door. The men suddenly realized it was a distraction and gave chase again.

Avery spun around, and fired another shot that grazed a man on his leg, then a second that buried itself in his thigh. He went over with a howl, his comrade tripped over him, and Avery slipped around a corner.

The men quickly rejoined and fired at Avery, but missed.

She burst out onto the main street again, cursing her luck. She had no idea how she was going to get rid of these bastards, short of killing them all and that took too much time!

She glanced up quickly, and, seeing a figure standing with his back to her, raised her gun and pulled the trigger.

She realized, too late, that it wasn't a syndicate member - it was Juunana.

For one horrific moment, Avery was terrified she'd shot him, but then he started to turn around, slowly. Her aim was off…?

Avery threw herself backwards, narrowly avoiding a hail of gunfire.

"_Juunana _- _get out of here_!" she shouted.

Avery staggered backwards, and turned to flee down the street.

* * *

I turned around, almost a little surprised to feel the soft thud of a bullet land between my shoulder blades. Had I been human it would have killed me almost instantly.

I'd heard the humans coming, although I certainly hadn't expected to be shot. Idiots…

"_Juunana - get out of here_!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Avery falling backwards with a pained expression, spin around and spring away, narrowly avoiding bullets. Her left arm had been shot, and her lax fingers dripped blood as she turned and ran.

I turned around, stepped forward, and the first human that came into view lost his head in one fell strike, sending the body twisting to the ground, blood flying everywhere.

Startled at my sudden appearance, and their comrade's abrupt demise, the three remaining ones turned on me.

They were syndicate men.

"Who the hell are you!" one of them demanded.

I looked up at him, and moved with inhuman speed, grimly relishing the puffy crunch of skull underneath the heel of my shoe.

The other two fell back, shocked.

"_Get the girl_!" one of the men shouted at the other, and the man shot off. I could have killed him easily, but I chose not to.

I grinned at the remaining human, and he glared at me poisonously.

"You don't know who you're fucking with, asshole," the man snarled.

"Neither do _you_," I said calmly, though I was itching inside. My smile crawled all the way up to my ethereal blue eyes.

"What the - _go to hell_!"

He pulled the trigger, and I slipped easily out of the way, rushing the human and shoving him against the wall, arm outstretched and clenching the man's neck.

"What the hell - what _are _you!"

I could have laughed outright.

I let the human fall to the ground, and he raised his gun, pointing it up at my eerie, smiling face.

"Back off or I'll _shoot_!" the man demanded, fully intent on doing that.

I didn't back off.

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet glanced off my face right above my right eye, shot upwards, and buried itself in the brick above us.

The man paled, and his mouth fell open in stark horror. He dropped the gun.

"Who - _what _- _what are you_!"

I lifted my hand, and held it outstretched. A small flicker of ki flashed, crackling like electricity between my fingers.

The man couldn't move, his eyes were locked onto my hand.

He looked up at me, shaking, "_You _- _you're _- "

I didn't let the miserable thing finish its sentence.

I stepped backwards, feeling quite self-satisfied. It had been a long time since I'd had the opportunity to kill. Outside repercussions were unlikely - the syndicate preferred to keep its business to itself.

I looked up sharply when I heard running footsteps. Avery appeared at the mouth of the alley, peering at me concernedly. She glanced down at the two dead men, wrinkling her nose at the acrid smell of charred flesh.

"Did he have a grenade on him?"

That was funny until I remembered she knew nothing of ki.

"Yes," I replied shortly.

"Uh…thanks for helping me," Avery said slowly, a little shaken. "…It's good you're alright."

I shrugged a little.

"You've been shot."

It was nothing except a statement of fact, and it caught Avery off guard.

"Yes, well…" she replied, clearing her throat and touching her injury lightly. "Um…I'll have to get that fixed, won't I?"

I stared at her. Surely the human was more intelligent than that, or else I'd been given the wrong impression.

"Juunana…can I ask you a favor?"

I stared at her incredulously.

"_Please_," she begged. "I'm too tired to argue. Just check on David for me, tell him not to wait up, and go back to your apartment. I know it's on the way."

"_No_. Why would that brat _care _where you are?" I shot at her.

"He'll care."

"Forget it," I snapped harshly.

Avery opened her mouth, but shut it again, and shook her head.

"Take care," Avery muttered, and disappeared again.

I glanced down at the dead man at my feet.

"Damn human..."

* * *

Avery's arm ached terribly. Unfortunately, her injury would have to wait until the transactions were complete and she'd been paid.

So, they were early, too.

Avery slipped into view, heart pounding thunderously in her chest.

* * *

I could kill the bitch right now, if she were here.

I stared at the shut door, without moving.

The door to Avery's apartment.

Was there any good _reason _I was here? Neither Avery, and _especially_ not her annoying little brat were any of my concern. Even my apparent 'rescue' had simply been a brief distraction.

But damn it, I was here. And it wasn't like I had to go in and play patty-cake with the little shit.

I lifted my hand and knocked sharply on the door.

There was a small scuffle from inside.

"Who is it!" David's thin voice demanded.

"It's Juunanagou!"

A moment's silence. "Well…whad'you _want_?"

"Avery said not to wait up," I snapped, and turned to leave.

Abruptly, the door opened.

"Avery said _what_? Where is she!"

I turned back around, and gazed down at David.

"I don't know where she is," I drawled. "You heard me."

He was dressed in old yellow pajamas, which made him look even sicklier than usual, if that were possible.

"Well if she told you something you had to have seen her," David countered.

"She left," I replied flatly. "And so am I. Leaving."

"Don't you go!"

"Scared of the dark?" I sneered.

"_No_!" David replied, and stepped outside. "I just want you to stay until Avery gets back."

It was mildly amusing to realize that David held a hunting rifle that was too big for him.

"Not a chance in hell."

David sighed.

"Avery likes you," he said flatly.

Revulsion stirred within me. "I _don't _like her."

A ghostly smile lit David's gray features. "I know."

"So why bring it up?" I demanded.

"_She'd _never bring it up," David replied. "But I can't see what there is to like."

"Then what's the point of bringing it up!" I snapped angrily. "What makes you think I'd give a _damn _if Avery 'likes' me."

"Trying to get you to stay, I guess?"

"It's _not _working," I hissed coldly.

"She's gone and done something to do with the syndicates, hasn't she?"

"…Aren't you _nine_?"

"Doesn't mean I'm stupid," he replied shortly, "Why _else _would she be out in the middle of the night?"

I shrugged.

"Juunanagou, _please _stay until Avery gets back."

I glared down at the child, not bothering to hide my intense dislike. He was as bad as Avery.

* * *

Several hours later, Avery slipped slowly through the door, face weary and haggard. The sky outside was pink. She turned, and paused to stare at David and I. Her eyes were almost flat and dead, they were so tired, and her coat hung limply from her shoulders.

"What, did we have a party and I wasn't told about it?"

"Are you okay?" David immediately demanded.

"I'm fine," Avery replied. "You shouldn't be up."

"I was worried about you," David said, standing up. "You've been gone all night."

"I'm _fine_," Avery repeated shortly.

"What if you weren't?"

Avery paused for a moment. David probably couldn't see it, but what was left of Avery's patience was quickly eroding.

"It's none of your fucking _business _what I do," Avery snarled, rounding on the child.

"What happens if you _die_, huh? Where does that leave _me_?" David shouted, pain in his sullen eyes.

"Don't worry, you won't be out on the street! There's always gullible _idiots _like me who're going to feel sorry for you!"

David reeled, cruelly stung. "That's not what I _meant_!"

"_Bullshit_!" Avery spat, fine drops of blood flying across her cheek, "You'd have died in the _street _if it wasn't for me!"

"Avery!" David protested, and suddenly collapsed into his seat, ashen faced and wild eyed. The human cringed into himself, clutching his chest.

Avery gazed down on him in fury, then turned away and stalked into the kitchen.

I watched the scene rather numbly, stunned at Avery's callousness.

Avery stormed back into the room, clutching an inhaler and a bag.

"Open your mouth!" Avery commanded, and pried the gasping child's mouth open. "Deep breath - one - two - _now_!"

Slowly, David's agonized hacking subsided and he lay weakly in the seat, worn out.

Avery turned away and stood very still.

"Don't say _anything_," Avery said slowly, when I opened my mouth. I had no idea what I was going to say; why _would _I say anything?.

"No," I snapped back. "The brat stayed up all night for you." That should _matter_?

Avery wouldn't look at me.

"_Idiot_!" I hissed. "You're as spineless as the rest of your miserable race!" No, really?

Avery looked up, dark eyes afire.

"What the _hell _is _that _supposed to mean?"

"…You're bleeding…"

Avery blinked suddenly, distracted, and stared down at David. "_What_?"

"You're bleeding."

She touched the dark stain on her arm. "It's alright. I got Alan to fix it up for me."

Avery turned her gaze to me, it was tired and beaten.

"I'm sorry…you'd better go."

I stared at her icily, spun around and stalked to the door.

"Juunanagou!"

I stopped, and looked back at Avery.

"Thank you for looking in on David."

I snarled at her and stepped out the door, slamming it behind me.

* * *

Avery sat down slowly, and peered up at David, who was staring back at her.

"I'm sorry."

David said nothing.

"I'm so sorry…"

"…Where were you?"

Avery sighed, and stared up at the ceiling. She'd never told David about losing the job at Nuremberg's. "I…had to work late."

"And you got shot on the way home?"

"Yeah."

David stood up unsteadily, and slowly shuffled over next to Avery, looking down on her quietly.

"…I know you were fired from Nuremberg's."

Avery cringed, shame and agony tearing through her heart.

"…How long have you known?"

"Couple of months, I guess…Avery…why…"

"I'm running out of money," Avery murmured, every word hurting. "I haven't found another job, and I was offered a one-time stand by a syndicate."

David recoiled, and gasped sharply. "_Avery _- "

"My association with them ended last night," Avery said flatly. "It was just a one-time thing."

David couldn't say anything, he was numb.

"I don't mind the risk…I promised your mother I'd take care of you no matter what, and I mean to keep that promise…"

At a loss for words, David climbed onto the couch next to Avery, and leaned against her. It was something he rarely did anymore. Avery's good right arm hugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't make you worry…"

Avery trailed off, and David looked up at her. Her head rolled back, eyes shut, and her body went limp. For a moment David was stricken with terror - and then Avery's chest rose, and then slowly fell.

She'd fallen asleep.

* * *

Is this chapter any good? I don't think so…worried if Juunana's out of character, if I've rushed it…if I've fucked up in any way…

All hail the Ein…because he's sitting at my feet and warming them up so I have the strength to finish this monster of a chapter…

I just remembered where I got the name Nuremberg from. The Nuremberg Trials at the end of WWII…God, I'm such a loser…XD;;

**Review replies**:

Chibihoshichan: Long enough for ya? I feel so loved, lol. Probably wouldn't have gotten this chapter up so quickly if it wasn't for you and your threatening to shoot my head off…then again, wouldn't killing me defeat the purpose of getting me to hurry up? Hehehehe…

Nekogurl: Thank you, I've tried. 17 is a little smartass pill, though, and this chapter was _hard _to work with.

Dacheran: I didn't think your first review was stupid at all! I actually thought you meant for me not to introduce Trunks in this chapter. However, 18 _is _really dead. I'm sorry if that disappoints you…I originally developed the idea for this fic because I was so sick and tired of seeing so many 18-survives (and-maybe-gets-with-Trunks) stories - and if 17 _ever _appears he's the bad guy. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate 18, but I just wanted to write a 17-centric fic.

Bishi-Gojyo: Ahahaha…and that's why I love writing 17, _because _he's such a smartass! Thank yous so much! And as for you, you must continue with your fic!


	5. Already Got One Foot In The Grave

I'm a lazy idiot. And I've also lost track of my plot map for this fic…damn. I've still got it vaguely in my head, but…grr.

And I realized how hideously the last chapter was written. (cringe) Let's see if I do any better with this one…

Trunks is here. Sorry 'bout that. Take note, **Trunks is NOT the good guy**. More on his status in the end-notes. I didn't pick the name Holly because I like it.

Coming in the next chapter: Things actually get started! Yay!

* * *

"We only take cash," I snapped coldly, peering up at the hard-looking woman with a barely interested expression.

"What the _hell _do you mean you only take cash! It says _right there _on that sign you take checks!" the woman shrieked, pointing one claw of a fingernail at a tarnished, crooked sign above my head on the wall.

I leaned back in the chair and grabbed the offending square of aluminum off the wall, crushed it, and dropped it into the trashcan underneath Raymond's desk.

"We don't anymore," I sneered icily.

The woman's malevolent glare was laughable in its attempt to intimidate me. My sister, on a _good _day, could have done better.

"Bunch of _fucking assholes_!" she snapped, performed a near perfect about-face on a stiletto heel, and marched out the door, and slammed it behind her.

I smirked.

Raymond's days off could be amusing.

"Who was _that_?" Louis asked, and walked into the office, cleaning oil from his hands with a rag.

"What do you think?"

Louis shrugged.

"Hey, have you talked to that Avery chick lately?"

I stiffened.

"No."

In fact, it had been several days since I'd last seen her or the miserable brat. I was enjoying that.

"…You _really _need to get laid, man."

What the _hell_?

"…No, I _don't_."

Louis regarded me critically with his one eye for a few moments.

"…You're a fag," he declared flatly, as if in a moment of epiphanic realization.

It was almost like he _tried _to get me to kill him.

"You're on the clock, Louis," I hissed dangerously. "Get out of my _sight_!"

Louis, completely unaffected, shrugged.

"You really should. It'd do wonders for the stick up your ass."

I remained silent, peering at the human with a look that could kill.

"_Get back to work_!"

Louis raised his arm in a mock salute and snapped his heels together.

"Yes, _sir_!" he bleated, and walked off laughing.

Stupid _human_, I thought, my lips curling into a snarl. I glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 1:48PM. I had only been half-lying to the whore--we took checks, but only when we knew they wouldn't bounce.

Bored, I stood up from the chair and stalked into the garage.

"He's probably gay," Louis was saying, obviously without the knowledge I stood ten feet behind him. Louis was bent over underneath a hood, working on God knows what with the engine of a black SUV. "But I ain't sure. I'm gonna try to hook him up."

I balked suddenly, and Joe, who was across the opened hood, also working on the same engine, caught sight of me and went still, quite surprised. Then shook it off as a conspiring smile spread over his face.

"With who? This Avery chick?"

"Yeah, I just gotta find out where she lives." Louis reached in a little farther. "Hang on, I jus' gotta go get a rag or something…"

He stood up, and turned around--and then let out a rather unmanly yelp.

"Uh…Juunana! Didn't see you standing there!" He grinned stupidly.

My arms crossed, I fixed him with a cool glare; one which in an earlier life of mine had caused a certain purple haired brat to piss his pants. Louis swallowed nervously and sweat trickled down his throat.

"Hey, man…you got to admit, she ain't half bad, and you're gonna die a virgin if som'n doesn't happen pretty soon…"

_How did I _miss _this idiot! He's not smart enough to get out of the way of a ki blast!_

My eyes rolled skyward and I let out a sharp snort of derision.

"Stay the _hell _out of it," I snarled icily, causing everyone but Louis' faces to pale to white. It wasn't often I was actually angry, and I had no compunction against killing.

"You're _red_, man!" he crowed, and pointed at me, grinning some more.

"Louis, _shut the hell up_!" Vincent suddenly shouted, and stepped between Louis and I.

Omar had come to stand at the doorway, watching me with a cool, observing expression. Joe was rigid, like he was waiting for the cue to run like hell.

It took Louis a moment to realize Vincent was dead serious, and he backed off with a fairly confused expression.

"Hey, man…I'm sorry," he offered. On some level, the human _actually_ thought I was his friend.

_Ignorant fool._

"Finish your job," I snarled curtly, and marched out of the garage, my back completely rigid. Without saying a word, I went outside and walked to the edge of the lot, where I leaned against a lamppost.

I let out a long sigh I hadn't been aware I'd been holding. I lifted my eyes and glanced down the street, between the double rows of brown bricked apartment buildings, at the mass of brightly colored preparations for the anniversary parade. It was scheduled to begin there, and end in front of the town hall.

Overhead, the thunder rumbled softly, threatening another rain.

* * *

"How come I have to learn this stuff? _You _never went to school!" David demanded, eyeing Avery's hand, which held down a math book, and weighing the different outcomes of stabbing her with his sharpened pencil. He sat on the floor, bending over the coffee table.

"Cause of the androids," she growled out. "I'm too old to get into school again, and I don't have time for it, anyway."

He stared at her mutinously.

"Now, shut up and practice this stuff."

Avery edged away from the table, eyeing the open book with a suspicious, almost hostile expression. About all she knew how to do was to keep a stranglehold on the finances, and most other kinds of practical math. If asked about things like derivatives or integrations, her dark eyes would glaze over and she might ask if you had been drinking recently.

David, for his part, was a clever boy, quite capable of teaching himself when he had been pinned down and forced into it.

"What's the _point_? I'm not gonna live long enough for it to matter." He tapped the eraser on the table, glaring at the equations.

"They say half of healing's in the head," she sighed, her voice bitter and tired. "Would you shut up and just _do_ it, already!"

David's retort stuck on his tongue. There were times to press Avery, and times when it wasn't wise. For the past few days, she had been especially tense and angry, since she had returned early that one morning, shot and exhausted. He lowered his head and began to work on the problems.

While Avery's attention to his education tended to come in waves, he knew he was already more book-smart than she. What Avery knew only extended to her immediate range of experiences. She knew all about how to survive without anything but her wits to guide her, but she would have walked right out of a classroom.

It was a sensitive point for her, and the eighteen year old had found herself in multiple situations where she had completely embarrassed herself due to this lack in education. While she considered it a personal mission to somehow ingrain knowledge into David's head, she was far too proud to sit down and learn with him. If it had to do with history, then there was a chance she would, but nothing else interested her.

"…How is it?" David asked, referring directly to the injury that kept Avery flinching at every turn.

"It's better," she said softly. "Are you working or looking for a way to avoid it?"

"I'm just asking," he shot back quickly, and wondered how in the world there could be negative numbers as well as positive ones. They seemed redundant.

Ah, but he was skipping ahead.

"Do you want spaghetti, or pizza, tonight?" Avery asked.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and the two had been under a tenuous, fragile truce since that morning when David hyperventilated after trying to shout Avery out of her sulking mood.

"I don't care," David replied shortly.

"Pizza then, I'm fucking tired of pasta," she said succinctly.

David mumbled something to an affirmative effect, and then lost himself in his math work.

Avery, who had busied herself with cleaning the apartment and fumigating it, went back to hand washing the dishes.

She grimaced as the caked, rock-hard remnants of lasagna came loose and drifted away in the water.

Her problems were only temporarily kept at bay, and she had sacrificed her complete autonomy from the syndicates to do it. Most people in Halgrove had some connection to the yakuza, and she had done her best to avoid it. They were dangerous things to get mixed up in, and while Avery was by no means an easy target, she stood no chance against a syndicate backlash.

She had faith that Langdon wouldn't betray her, and it wasn't Langdon she was worried about. As an outsider, she was fair game for retribution, and mouths talked.

_Then there's Juunana to worry about, I hope they don't go after him…not to mention David, as well._

The guilt she felt at getting them mixed up in it was painful. If either of them were to be killed by the syndicates…

Avery shook her head, trying not to think such unpleasant thoughts. Her left arm throbbed painfully, and she flinched, but said nothing.

Outside, the rain began to fall, slowly.

* * *

"She's an audacious _bitch_," the black haired man snapped, leaning back in the chair with his feet up on the table. The fine black leather footwear gleamed, almost reflecting their owner's fat, corpulent face near the toes. He wore a suit of inky black, and a crisp white shirt.

"That's _enough_ out of you," said Eris, a tall man with graying brown hair, and rimless spectacles. He despised his subordinate. "And get your fucking feet off my table. You'll get dog shit on it." Eris looked, for lack of a better term, like an pencil-nosed office clerk turned yakuza boss.

He was an unlikely one for the job, possessing no taste for pomp or circumstance, or even fine footwear, though he could have afforded a mountain of poncy shoes. He was, instead, a calculating, cruel, and vicious man, who thought before he leapt. Those qualities were what earned him his place as head of the White Snake syndicate.

"There's more to this than what meets the eye," Eris stated flatly, feeling perfectly safe telling Morgan, the fat man, what was on his mind even though he knew that there were ten different ways Morgan's pockets were being lined on the side. "And revenge has its place. But for now, we'll wait."

Morgan's glassy eyes widened in irritation, but made no protest. Eris was famous for his seemingly pointless and stupid actions--which later turned out to not be so stupid or pointless at all. He would wait, too.

"Get out," Eris snapped coldly, and Morgan trundled out of the office.

For a man of Eris' stature, his office was small but well appointed with an ebony desk, with a comfortable black leather swivel seat sitting behind it. In front sat two black chairs, not quite as comfortable as Eris', but decent. There was a potted plant in the corner. Two sides of the room were entirely made of glass, and there were ceiling-to-floor blinds that cut the light to a minimum. A sofa sat on one side, but otherwise there was nothing except for the materials on his desk and a painting hung on the wall of a mountain in the Northern range.

It had started to rain, and the already muted light from the half-opened shades had grown dimmer.

There was something strange about last night, something for which Eris had no explanation, and he meant to discover what it was before stupidly plodding ahead with the thought of killing that girl, Aubry, or whatever her name was. He would have to tread carefully, on two fronts, to bring this to a closure. He could not have other organizations getting the impression of weakness.

Throwing a glance at the closed door, Eris went and stood next to the window, and pulled down a slat of the blinds. The parade was shaping up quite nicely, he noted.

* * *

It was a happy day in the Western Capitol for one Trunks Briefs. There was no sign of the rain troubling the eastern half of the world, and the sun shone brightly over a clear day.

"You _will_?" he breathed, absolutely thrilled, as the pretty young woman sitting across the table blushed bright red and giggled.

"Of course!" she said, and leaned forward, smiling happily. "Of _course _I'll marry you!"

After returning from the past, and killing both the androids and Cell, Trunks had set about helping to rebuild his world. Using Capsule Corp.'s resources, which were still considerably vast, especially considering the Apocalyptic hell the world had just emerged from, they had made fast progress.

Trunks, used only to hiding and fighting for survival, had at first been very uncomfortable in his diplomatic role as Vice President. He quickly adapted, and was fast learning from his mother's business examples.

On an excursion to Pepper City, he had met a friendly, cheerful girl named Holly, and things went from there. Some might say their relationship had moved far too quickly, but Trunks didn't make any decision without thinking it through as deeply as any other man.

His mother would be thrilled; Bulma liked the brown haired young lady quite a bit.

The restaurant was a newly built one, part of the effort to repopulate the Western Capitol after the city's population had been virtually exterminated by the androids very near to the beginning of their reign of terror.

It was brightly lit, with crème colored tablecloths and china on the table. The dining area was a large circular room, centered around a fountain in which a dancing cherubim poured water out of a jug; and a row of flowers lined the outer edge of the fountain's sides. The curved walls depicted the countryside on a beautiful day, and the large skylight overhead was made of clear glass, giving the diners a good view of the sky above.

The waiter overheard the proposal, and in a few minutes returned, smiling, with a piece of chocolate cake and a lit candle stuck in it.

Trunks grinned, color rising to his cheeks, and Holly laughed and turned bright red.

"Oh, this is _wonderful_! Thank you!" Holly said, smiling happily at the waiter. She turned to Trunks. "This is great!"

The two of them finished their meal, paid, and tipped the waiter generously. They walked out of the restaurant laughing, towards the new, partially built headquarters of Capsule Corporation.

It never once entered the lavender haired young man's head that he would be dragged back into old blood in a matter of days.

* * *

I have stolen the name "Holly" from my friend's old roommate, whose nickname was "_Hollymonster_." She's quite condescending in later chapters, though you can't tell from her introduction.

Yes, I'm having fun depicting Trunks as I am. I'm not very good at it, but he's supposed to come off as arrogant and high-handed. Maybe I just haven't written enough of him, yet, to get that across. You're not supposed to like Holly, either.

Eris is evil, he is not pleasant and he's not a "good guy." Expect no mercy or pity from him.

_We're still getting into the meat of the story, so stick with me, please!_

**Nekogurl**: Thank you very much! 17's a neglected character…most people think he's a girl at first…Oy. Lol, thank you for your review.

**Jess**: Thank ya kindly!

**Bishi-gojyo**: Hoo, boy. Avery and Juunana relationship-wise? Yeah, someone's going to get shot at, along the line. (laughs)

**Dacheran**: I had meant it more along the lines of "He has certain prescribed pre-dictations about the way a human should act," than anything else. Sorry if that wasn't put through very well, heh. Don't worry about Trunks' appearance, he's not the protagonist in this story. I've always tended to think of the "Z-senshi" as being over-righteous on some level, so this is where I'm going to explore those thoughts of mine, heehee. And I think with 17 slipping every now and then…well, we all know how he loves games, lol. That's just one more that he plays, with death. Nah, you don't need to keep your keyboard shut at all! I like hearing nice feedback. You haven't seen any of those fics? Heh, feel blessed, lol.


	6. Beginning of the End

Oh my...long chapter...It's taken me a while...well, I'll let y'all get to the story. Don't forget to tell me what y'all thought!

* * *

A lull had settled over Halgrove for the past several days, bringing things back to a tense equilibrium, though there was an underlying sentiment of excitement and anticipation that ran through the city, infecting almost everyone. The parade was tomorrow.

Eris stared out the clear front window of the restaurant, at the people on the street. He was lost in thought, something rare. His blackened salmon sat on his plate, half eaten and mostly forgotten, for the moment.

As Morgan approached from behind, Eris shifted back into rigid alertness, though he gave no outward sign of it. Eris preferred to dine alone, though he was not stupid enough to go without an entourage. They ate separately, in various corners of the well decorated room. The rest of the restaurant patrons passed by obliviously, unaware of the snake in the grass.

"Sir," Morgan said. "The autopsy reports are in."

After the bodies had been recovered from the alley, charred and blackened—resembling, somewhat ironically, Eris' lunch—they had been sent to a forensics lab into which the Syndicate funneled money. It was a lucrative endeavor for the lab to keep low-key any work the Syndicate demanded of them.

Eris was interested in only one report, and as Morgan handed him the thick file, Eris immediately flipped through it, until he found what he had been looking for.

All but two of the men had died of various gunshot wounds. One had been beheaded, in a strange fashion that left the man's head crushed like a bloody, deflated beach ball, across the street from the body, like it had been punted. The last one had apparently died of an explosion.

These explanations themselves were not cause for alarm, but there was something suspicious in the back of Eris' mind, and he innately trusted his gut instincts. He cared nothing for the men, though there was something in his memory that made him cautious of his next move. He also doubted that Audry—Ashley—_Avery_!—was capable of kicking off a head.

The obvious explanation? She hadn't been alone that night. Since there were no survivors, Eris did not have first-hand accounts, and whoever it may have been left no trace of his presence that had yet been found.

_Shit._

The autopsy reports were terse but expertly executed. While the cause of death was simply "beheading" in the case of the first strange death, the second one was much more curious.

There was no residue that would mark the man's death as caused by an explosion of anything physically tangible known to the forensics team. It wasn't fire, wasn't a a bomb—no residue on the charred flesh left any clues like that, nor did the manner of the wounds match—in fact, the notes remarked that it was like he had been given an awfully bad sunburn, enough to kill him and blacken flesh.

Eris set the papers down, feeling slightly trapped. He steepled his fingers and stared at the people on the street. They were almost too happy for his liking.

There was a small yellow sticky note attached to the third and last page of the report peeking out, just barely visible. He flipped to it and felt his heart constrict. His face remained stoic.

—**_It looks exactly as if this guy was killed by the androids. Anyone up for coffee?_**

Whether or not that note was meant to accompany the report, or if it was just an offhand thought accidentally left on the paper before being packaged and sent to him, he didn't know. But the note echoed the nameless fear in the back of Eris' mind.

_If it was the androids, if they're alive..._

Aubry—_Avery_, he'd have to remember that name—was not one of the androids, that was not in his thoughts. There was a second being there that night, Eris was sure. Too many things didn't add up.

More than once Eris had been to cities the androids' had demolished, and seen the corpses, to survey his own interests. They didn't have the look of a man burned by fire, or scathed by a bomb. They were a strange sight to behold, indescribably so. Their bodies were tossed, as if carried by some force, twisted and gnarled, or else disintegrated entirely. Their deaths were unique to a style.

Calmly, despite his inner near-panic—for Eris _was_ human himself and starkly aware of his mortality when it came to the androids—he set the reports down, and went back to eating. He would have to decide what to do from here.

Even if it turned out to be a false alarm, and not the androids at all, it would be judicious of Eris to assume the worst and act accordingly. Still, more would have to be learned before he would decide on a course of action.

Morgan noticed, with no small amount of shock, that Eris' hand trembled ever so slightly, despite the cold look of resolution on the man's face.

* * *

Avery was lying in bed, half awake, and with her body twisted inside the covers. Her head lay at a strange angle, flung to the side, her eyes shut. She was drooling just a little bit out of an open mouth, though at the moment she didn't really care, or else hadn't noticed.

It was already noon, and she had been laying motionless for the better part of the two hours she had been awake.

Her head pounded, she felt nauseous, and very irritable. She had a hangover. An empty bottle of spiced rum lay on the floor, along with a shattered bottle of cream liquor and numerous beer bottles in various stages of emptiness, and two more half empty bottles of wine sat next to the rum.

Avery didn't want to rise and view the destruction that she would have to clean up.

Without warning, a keening shriek cut into her ears.

_The fucking phone!_

Groaning, her irate murmurings distorting the vile swearing pouring from her mouth, she wormed her arm free and snatched the phone up.

"_Yeah_?" she snapped gruffly.

"Avery? You sound like you had a rough night." It was Langdon. His slight northern brogue was, as usual, very pretty to hear. Of all the people that could have called her, Langdon's voice was a welcome sound.

"Brigit came over. We drank to her divorce." It hadn't exactly been a rough night; quite the opposite, in fact. From what Avery could remember, it had been a very _good_ night. It was the waking up that she hated.

_Where the hell is Brigit, anyway? Did she go home or sleep on the floor, or what? When did I get into bed?_

"Oh. Well, she seems to be taking that well."

"She had a fucking party. You tell me how she's taking it," Avery mumbled, slowly inching her way back into the comforting warmth of her bed.

"Damn glad to be rid of John, I'll bet," Langdon said, rather gently. "Listen, Avery. This is important. What happened the night you did that exchange?"

"Huh? I did the exchange," Avery said flatly.

"No, I mean; well...what happened? On the way there. You were attacked. Was there anyone there, too? Other than the men from the White Snake."

"Yeah, Juunana," Avery said, without thinking about it. Hangovers tended to seriously deplete her common sense. "How come you want to know?" _And what would it matter?_

"_Juunana_?"

"He's a friend of mine," Avery said, for lack of a better term. "Acquaintance, whatever...I know him."

"Oh...really?" Langdon asked, sounding slightly amazed. "Do you know who a man named Eris is?"

"No," she answered flatly. "Who cares?"

"He's the head of the White Snake syndicate," Langdon said. "It was his men who were killed. Something's wrong, Avery."

Avery's eyes opened, and she stared up at the ceiling, feeling something dreadful creep into her body. She said nothing, so Langdon continued.

"Whatever was on those autopsy reports doesn't add up. He's mincing."

"_Mincing_?" Avery asked, fear slipping into her.

"They know who you are, Avery," Langdon said. "I can't tell you any more than that. And they know someone else was there, too."

_Shit!_

Avery swallowed in a dry throat.

"Be careful," Langdon continued. "You're a friend."

"...Okay. Thanks," Avery said, now struggling to become lucid. She'd gone rather pale, and was inwardly cursing herself. "Is that all?"

"Yeah. I'll call you if anything comes up."

"...Thanks," Avery said, and the line went dead. She winced as the flat tone seared her hearing. She let the phone fall from her hand, and drop on the mattress.

Without saying anything, she rolled over, clumsily extricating herself from her blankets.

It had been dangerous for Langdon to call...what if the line was tapped? What if they could trace—no, he would have called from a pay phone, to avoid that—what if they could recognize the voice? Track even Langdon down for aiding her? He'd endangered himself. He'd put himself...even his own syndicate could retaliate against him! How did he know that information in the first place?

"David," she called out, voice hoarse. "_David_!" She glanced at the mirror. Her hair was a wild cloud of darkness, and her clothes were disheveled. She certainly was no morning flower. Avery looked like the risen dead. Also, her arm looked like hell, and had bruised terribly sometime last night. A dark purple stain stood out against her pale skin.

When the boy didn't answer she staggered into his room, avoiding the shattered glass with remarkable success. He looked up from his work, startled.

_Doing homework? I'll be fucking damned..._

"_Holy shit_!" he yelped suddenly, staring at her appearance. His English work was forgotten.

"Where's Brigit?" Avery snapped shortly.

"Went home in a taxi at four-something in the morning," David said, rising to his feet. A badly hungover Avery had never scared him before. Something about her haggard, wild-eyed appearance set him on edge. "What's wrong?"

"Ah," Avery said, having no recollection of that. It didn't matter. "We might have to leave town. I might have to send you to live with Laure—_Linda_. I can't _fucking_ keep names straight!" Her head spun, and thudded with every beat of her heart. Just how much had she drunk, last night, anyway? She didn't want to start counting.

"_What_! How come!" David demanded angrily. He was not partial to Avery's friend.

"_Can_ it," Avery snapped back, her hoarse, grating voice brooking no argument. "The syndicate."

The word struck terror into David, and he stumbled backwards, staring at Avery with a strange mix of horror and absolute fear. He knew without being told what she meant.

Without another word, Avery turned, and staggered back towards her room. He heard an angry howl, and an unintelligible string of curses as she sliced her foot on glass. His heart thudded in his chest, as he sank back into his seat, eyes wide and staring.

He heard the shower turn on, and his head sank down, his forehead pressing against his desk, as his chest began to hurt, and his throat constricted.

* * *

"Hey, Juunana! Come take a look at this! It's that Briefs kid from Capsule Corp.! He's on TV!" Joe shouted, coming into the front office. I looked up at him coldly, but didn't set down the insurance papers I was working on. I tended to work more on mundane, infuriating paperwork than I did on cars, lately.

But, though I hated paperwork, I downright loathed that purple-haired son of a bitch.

"_So_?" I snapped, instantly feeling a spike of anger in me.

"He's getting _married_, and he feels like he has to announce this to the whole fucking world," Vincent said, a disgusted look on his face. An obligatory cigarette hung from his mouth. "It's sickening."

I let an icy smirk break upon my face. "_Why_?"

Vincent snorted, and shook his head. He walked out of the office, back towards the break room.

"She's pretty hot," Louis said, and I glared at him.

"Who is?"

"His fiancé."

_I will not kill Louis._

"Get out of my _face_, Louis," I snapped, and went back to paperwork.

"What the hell? Did this Trunks kid reject you or something? Sorry, not everyone's a fag."

_Yet._

I looked up at Louis, my eye twitching sporadically, and my teeth grit together irately. I was absolutely rigid; it was doubtful even Trunks himself could have moved me. The pen in my hand shattered.

"Do you have a _death wish_?" I asked shortly, peering at him with narrowed eyes.

"So, how has Avery been?" Louis asked, moving smoothly onto another topic as if I hadn't virtually threatened his life a moment ago.

"No idea," I snapped flatly, and thereafter refused to acknowledge Louis' cyclopean existence.

So...Trunks was getting _married_?

In a spasm of morbid, masochistic curiosity, I suddenly threw the insurance papers to the desk, and stalked towards the break room.

I stepped around Omar, who was just inside the door. Vincent was leaning against the wall, staring caustically at the broadcast. Louis was smoking, as well, and smirking. Joe was apparently gone, and Raymond was in the garage, with Lee.

"The motherfucker's coming here for the parade. To give some speech," Vincent drawled, and I froze.

"_What_?" I snapped, and turned to look at him.

"He's gonna be some kin'a guest 'o honor," Omar said, and shrugged. He left the break room. "An' they're gonna present his mother with some kin'a key to the city. There's some huge summit goin' on."

Rage boiled up inside of me, and this time I couldn't completely keep it in check.

Without a word, I snapped around on my heel, a perfect about face, and headed for the exit, snarling viciously under my breath. I wasn't sure if I was worried about my anonymity—I could easily keep that by staying locked into my apartment—or infuriated at the very idea.

_The bastard killed my sister. He ruined my fun—my life. I want him _dead_, at my hands, begging for his life. But first, I'd kill that human he's marrying, slowly._

I leaned against the outside wall of the garage, with my arms crossed. Halgrove's population had virtually doubled over the past week, and with it my patience had slowly deteriorated, and I'd become edgier. There was always the chance, however small, that a human had survived and could recognize me.

* * *

Avery stared down at David, chalk-faced. Her dripping wet hair hung around her face, framing wide, terrified eyes. She was on the ground, David's head cradled in her lap. She held his head.

David was calming down, finally. The attack was ending. He had a vise-like grip on her hand, and she gripped his just as hard. His labored breathing was slowing down, becoming less agonizingly strained, and air finally slipped into his lungs without the awful, hacking strangulation. It was a horrific thing to watch David whip around, trying desperately to breathe.

His face was gray, and sweat glittered on his his face. His hollow eyes held hers in an unblinking, wide-eyed stare. His mouth was wide, as he sucked in gasps of air, reedy and painful to hear.

She smoothed hair out of his face, and took a deep, steadying sigh. She shook badly, and her mind swirled.

Without saying anything, she picked David up, by his back and his legs, hooking her arms under him for support, carried him to the couch, and set him down. She straightened, and put her hands into the pockets of her ratty blue robe.

It had been a long time since he'd had such a bad attack, and the shivering fear she felt lingered inside of her, even as she was grateful that it was ending.

The White Snakes would come after David—it was a safe enough bet that Avery assumed that it would happen. And now Juunanagou was mixed up in it. She felt physically sick, and her legs threatened to give out on her. The blood thundered in her head, clouding her thoughts, mixing with her hangover.

"Avery...?" David croaked, tears streaming silently out of his eyes.

Avery sat down heavily on the coffee table, and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her face crinkled in a sardonic half-smile.

"You're still alive," she said weakly, in a voice laced with weariness and relief.

David heaved a cough, his face twisted in pain. He laid back, slowly regaining his strength.

"Didn't I tell you not to scare me like that?" Avery asked, but her voice held none of the bite that it usually did. She was too tired and harassed.

David shifted, throwing her a pleading, irritated look. "The syndicate?"

She took a sharp, heavy sigh. Her head soared, and she reeled.

"Langdon called. The syndicate's after me," she said flatly. "I can't _believe_ I was so stupid..."

David was ten times as vulnerable as she, because of his age and his fragile health. She'd have to get to Juunana, and warn him...

"What about Juunana?" David asked, his voice sounding clearer, but still soft and strained.

"They're after him, too," Avery said bitterly. _I'm so sorry. I've gotten too many people invovled._

David said nothing for a few seconds, and then he gasped, "He works at Joe's Auto, near that flower shop on Pearl...in that lot..."

"How do you know that?" Avery asked, quite surprised.

"That night..." David muttered, and then his eyes shut. He'd fallen asleep. His breathing was evening out, until it slipped in and out with such smoothness it would have been impossible to guess that the same boy had been struggling to suck in even a small gasp just a few minutes prior.

Avery took another deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and then rose to her feet, staggering heavily for the phone attached to the wall, eyes glazed from the stress.

* * *

I wrote the first part with Eris shockingly fast. So, now things are going to begin to start going downhill for our dear android and friends. I hope I can keep this up. Ah, I forgot to say last time. I modeled Eris' looks after Heinrich Himmler. He had cool glasses, I think. I hope 17 stays in character, since I wrote this chapter a little faster than I usually do, I'm afraid for it.

And yes, even yakuza bosses are afraid of the androids. They can die too, they're not immortal, or stupid.

Juunana will feature much more prominently in the coming chapters, as things begin to heat up.

Just so you all know (**Warning**: Shameless plugging ahead!), I've started writing an original fiction story on FictionPress. My account name is Ginza. My profile's link to my page is kind of screwy, it replaces the "" in the URL with a 7E, for whatever reason. So. Just so you know. It's kind of about time travel. Rather psychologically oriented.

**neko-kama06**: Awesome! I'm really glad to hear you're enjoying this. I'm having fun writing it!

**J.S.**: Thought it was a lesbian fic, eh? Well, they're out there, but unfortunately I'm no good at writing fics like that. It'll probably end up being 17xAvery (Oh holy god no! An oc! Heh.). But that isn't going to come into the picture for a long time. I'm so happy you're liking this! It's great to know that people appreciate it. As for Mirai Trunks...well, I love him myself, but remember whose point of view this story is told from. Juunana isn't going to give his enemy any credit.

**bishi-gojyo**: Yes, Trunks is engaged. Hehehehe. I hope I keep on a roll with these chapter... Glad to know Avery's entertaining...


	7. Plum Pudding Only Not: Note

Okay, to all of you waiting for an update:

I'm not updating this for a good, long while.

It needs to be rewritten and beaten with a stick. I began it two years ago and...frankly, I know what I want to have happen it's just that I'm overrun by the sheer amount of _stuff _to do in real live and I'm besieged with writer's block.

Plus, I'm worried about my characterization. And, earlier on, the lovely use of _ningen_. -barf- 17 is planned to have a much larger part, in short order, judging from what I have now, but really.

This thing does need to be rewritten. Any constructive crit you could offer would be helpful!

And, so that this site won't be stupid and say I just posted this for the purpose of note-giving: A teaser for the far future. Which hasn't been edited all to hell yet, actually, but this general scene will occur.

**Avery went rigid, and her eyes went wide. Trunks watched the color drain from her face.**

"**..._What?_"**

**Her eyes narrowed and she stared at Trunks critically. Her finger shook on the trigger, and then Trunks realized his dire mistake: Avery wasn't one to believe an enemy.**

"**It's the truth!" Trunks protested, watching the scene in horror, as if in a dream. His fiancé was not being held hostage by a deluded, violent...**

"**I already _knew_ that," she spat venomously. "What _difference_ does it make!"**

"**_What!_"**


End file.
